The Software Atom

TL;DR

This paper introduces a C++ framework combining quantum mechanics and quantum optics principles to numerically analyze atoms with complex energy levels, light interactions, and magnetic fields, demonstrated through polarizability calculations.

Contribution

It presents a novel C++ class-based approach integrating quantum mechanics and optics for flexible atomic simulations with perturbation theory implementation.

Findings

Successfully models atoms with degenerate energy levels and external fields.

Calculates atomic polarizability in realistic experimental scenarios.

Provides a versatile computational tool for atomic physics research.

Abstract

By putting together an abstract view on quantum mechanics and a quantum-optics picture of the interactions of an atom with light, we develop a corresponding set of C++ classes that set up the numerical analysis of an atom with an arbitrary set of angular-momentum degenerate energy levels, arbitrary light fields, and an applied magnetic field. As an example, we develop and implement perturbation theory to compute the polarizability of an atom in an experimentally relevant situation.